The Rainbow's Guidance
by Danielle Luna Soulhart
Summary: The Arcobaleno household is known for housing great talents that the world has ever known. But none of the people knew who they really were. Until they met a streetchild that could probably very different from the others. R
1. Prologue

**A/N: I am devastated in the fact that I can't see my plot notebook, and I almost breakdown to insanity when I can't open my FF account and worse, MY E-MAIL! But it seems I am being tricked and my e-mail suddenly opened the next day. *sigh* Oh well, since things happen, I happen to produce a new story and hopefully I can simultaneously write those without fail. I hope you'll like it. :D**

**DISCLAIMER: All rights go to Amano Akira. None of the original characters, terms and plot belongs to the authoress of this fiction. On the other hand, this plot is solely an original from Danielle Luna Soulhart, authoress of this fiction, and anyone plagiarizing this fiction will be sanctioned. Anyone who sees plagiarizing this is welcomed by the authoress.**

**BETA'ED BY: Azahkhiel**

* * *

**THE RAINBOW'S GUIDANCE**

© Danielle Luna Soulhart

November 2012

* * *

**PROLOGUE: The breakage of the Seven**

…**:[]:…**

_When the sky is lonely, everything is affected badly._

_The storm begins its rampage because it cannot control its rage_

_With the rain that continuously cries, flooding the world as a prize_

_As lightning breaks in despair, its melancholy draws the world beyond repair_

_While the cloud wraps the world in darkness and leaves no room for happiness_

_Poor, poor sun, for its light has gone_

_And the mist ever mischievous, creates an atmosphere so dangerous_

_All of these happen because they are broken_

_Their feelings won't return anytime, totally sullen_

_The only way to erase the pain is to pick up the pieces heartily, without feign_

_They all need an element so bright to release them from extreme sadness then towards light_

_And when that happens, the sky will once again rise from being fallen_

_The sky, storm, rain, lightning, cloud, sun, and mist will be happy like a sturdy, energetic family_

* * *

**Oh well, what do you guys think happened here? Leave suggestions and maybe you could be picked. But of course, there's one main incident here and it includes both Luce and Aria. :D Stay tuned!**


	2. A bad start

**A/N: Whoa, I really didn't expect someone to review since it's just a prologue. :D Because of that, thank you so much and I honor your suggestions. :D The incident have a chance to be revealed in this chapter, but let's see how, okay?**

**Unbeta-ed yet.**

* * *

**THE RAINBOW'S GUIDANCE**

© Danielle Luna Soulhart

November 2012

* * *

**GUIDE # 1: A bad start**

…**:[]:…**

"_Make sure you buy everything that is listed there." _

A sigh escaped from the tired mouth of Reborn as he arranged the stack of essays submitted by his students. He was tired for two reasons: one was from constantly reprimanding his students on how to properly annotate their essays, and even if it was only an _essay_, if you're going to include certain words from famous people or ideas from events, it should be properly quoted or else they would be accused of plagiarism. But it seemed that three-fourths of the class remained stubborn, worse, some ending on having the same topic. Second, he received a note from the dean of the Liberal Arts Department that he was invited to a seminar and he was not allowed to back out. Apparently, this seminar was way, way, way out of his league – a seminar about Peace Studies in two months time. Seriously? Peace was something removed from his vocabulary long, long ago, and with the current environment he was in right now, ha, peace was something unattainable unless dealt with brute force.

Okay, maybe he was really needed in that seminar, and as long as he was not going to be a speaker in that event, it was fine. He knew how many would like to get in touch with one of the youngest PH.D professors in their seminars. Yup, he was one of the youngest PH.D holders within Namimori University. He was just the Coordinator of the Social Sciences Division of the Liberal Arts Department, and a well-renowned professor working in one of the most prestigious schools in Japan that was Namimori University. Yup, he's only that. But as for Reborn, these were only titles that bring no meaning to his entire life. Sure, he was living in a very comfortable and luxurious life, but even if he denied it, he knew something was missing. And so, Reborn remained humble and aloof from the rest of the lot of professors and just do his job professionally. Like what he's always saying, "Do everything with your dying will." Or some sort of that.

Another sigh came out of his lips.

It's almost 3:30 and his classes were over. He finished checking his idiotic student's idiotic essays with a marvelous red ink all over. He kept all of it inside a vacant folder and slid it inside his drawer so that he won't forget it tomorrow. With everything's done, he remembered what happened earlier this morning in his so-called house where the elements of happiness and companionship don't exist. Companionship, you say? As much as Reborn despised it, he was living with 7 other people in the house. They were his so-called companions or to other's eyes – FRIENDS. He doesn't know when and where they did start being friends; after all he doesn't recall any events that made them stick together until as of today. And whether he liked it or not, having those lots was calming and comforting than anybody else. Only, the others were war freaks like him, so peace never really descended on that house. Putting his hand inside his pocket, he fished out a small piece of paper with a list of things. He sighed once again. Since he was the one who will return home early today, he was tasked by Luce, the head of the household, to do the groceries. It's just really a good thing that he wasn't carrying any workloads or stuff, just his trusty body bag. With another sigh escaping his lips, he bid a muttered goodbye (an awful requirement from the dean) to his colleagues and went to the supermarket.

…**:[]:…**

"MY BAG!" A lady shouted in the crowd, "MY BAG WAS STOLEN! THAT BOY STOLE MY BAG!"

A blurred figure of a small child came into the view of the passersby by the time they heard the lady's scream. Some acted upon it, some ignored, and some just ridiculed the woman for being scandalous at broad daylight. Those who have acted upon it have called the police to inform a theft incident, while half of it chased the small child who was unbelievably fast for his age. Come to think of it, the child was no older than 5 or 6 years old, and by that age the child would still trip from walking or running too fast. Apparently, those were beaten by this child thief. The ones who tried chasing the child thought sadly of him because he was taught to steal at a very young age. They also wondered if the child have parents or not, but they easily doubted it because it's nearly impossible for a parent to teach their children how to steal. Worst of all, the child was uneducated so it was just possible that the child would turn out like that. Several minutes later, the child's pursuers gave up, panting at a sidewalk while others crouched down. Police cars arrived then, but when they asked where the child was, they couldn't give a proper answer but 'he got away'. The police-in-charge ordered his subordinates to search the area and to their dismay (though they may have not voiced it), they were disappointed because the woman victim wasn't able to look closely at the thief's or at least memorize a distinctive mark from the thief, so these policemen have a vague clue who that child thief was. Two hours later, the police gathered back to the car with negative reports and all the police-in-charge could tell the poor victim was 'your bag was taken away'. The woman cried because she lost her salary, her iPhone, and a fifty-thousand dollars worth of branded watch that she was about to give as a present for her husband. The policemen can't do anything but offer a ride towards their police station and file a complaint, at least it was recorded and they could do another round of search just in case. Gladly, the woman complied and told the whole story of how her bag was snatched from her. But the police were showing signs of disbelief when the woman said she didn't feel anything when her bag was snatched. How was that possible? If that's the case, the woman must be utterly reckless or she left her bag unattended. The police sighed.

On the other side of the coin, the small boy was sitting in a dark, narrow alley between a luxurius cake shop and a music store. That alley was almost unattended because of its narrowness and it's impossible for someone to be hiding there since trashes were everywhere. Plus, it only looked like a small gap between the two famous stores so no one was really paying attention to it. However, that's the most part they're wrong. Small rats can still reside in there, and apparently this small child was a rat. Digging his small filthy hands inside the bag, he found $1000 in an envelope, a rectangular device that was alien to him and a shiny watch. He looked at it uninterestingly before putting those back in the bag.

So, there's no food in it.

He kept the $1000 but he has no idea on how to use that. It's not even edible. But within his mind it told him that he should keep it for future purposes. His stomach growled and he pouted. He hasn't eaten food for two days straight already and with his luck today, food seemed to be scarce. Whenever he's looking at trash cans or the black bags thrown in the sideways for the garbage truck to collect, all he can see were empty containers, empty plastics or empty plastic cups. He already even tried stealing bird seeds being thrown by the bird watchers. He didn't even care the disgusted looks he received from them as long as he can eat. He looked around and unfortunately, there was no new black bag to search for food and so with a determined mind, he set out.

He left the bag in the alley.

…**:[]:…**

"…broccoli…carrots…celery…mushrooms…hmm…" Reborn muttered as he read through the list. He pushed his cart of goods slowly as he looked through a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables before him. So far, he got what he mentioned, plus cabbages, spinach, tomatoes, squashes, and lots of chili. All he needed were garlic, onions, ginger, and some others. He looked further and when he saw them, he looked at it with hawk eyes, scrutinizing if the vegetable or fruit have worm bites, rat bites, and other bites. When he found none, he put it on the cart in a very organized way. After the fresh goods, we went to the canned goods side and picked what was in the list. Reborn nodded and treaded towards the next aisle – the condiments. He took what was listed and again the left for the other aisle. He did that for about two hours and thankfully, he was able to get all what was needed. On the cart were his personal needs and some others that were followed-up to him through an SMS message by his other colleagues in the house. After that, he went to the counter and used his platinum credit card to pay for the goods. The cashier was simply astounded, not only at Reborn's handsome looks but at the luxury of having a platinum credit card.

And so, he was treated like a VIP. No. Like a King.

Fifteen minutes have passed and at last, it's over. Reborn can finally go home and avoid those stares he kept on receiving – both from men and women, adults and children, and even pets. He growled inwardly. What's so special about him? He's a cold, sadistic, merciless professor and no one wanted to mess with him. He also always carried his favorite Berretta gun in metallic green. He was a ferocious person, in short. So people should scram and leave him alone. But no. Every time, just every time he looked in all directions, he would always find pink backgrounds with fluttery hearts and swirling flowers of admiration towards him. _Che, these people are so clichéd,_ he thought. Well, they can't find someone as dreamy as Reborn every day.

The moment he went outside, the valet has arrived with his car. He despised sports cars unlike his other companion, Colonnello; and so he picked a rather simple type of car but elegant looking – Porsche. His car was sleek black with silver linings and it has special devices like GPS system, a phone charger, and computer tablet holder. He went over and slipped 5 bags inside the car, gave the valet a tip and drove away. He swore to never go in groceries in his uniform and his car, and bring cash instead.

As he drove, he saw a beverage shop and found one of his personal favorite delights – espresso. Apart from his title, people do also know how he was in-loved with coffee, especially espresso. Normally, people would drink coffee with lots sugar and creamer to fight the bitterness, but Reborn? Oh no, he'd prefer it black. He wanted it strong. If he was going for cold coffees, he preferred frappucinos as long as sugar was little. He was not the type for sweets so whenever he received chocolates from his 'fangirls and fanboys', he would immediately reject it or if inevitable, he would take it and give it to the street children instead. He doesn't want it to go into waste because it's against his principles. He stopped, parked smoothly, set the car's sensitivity and went inside. The employees there were awestruck and Reborn wanted to knock some sense out of them as well. Seriously, if this kept on he'd have one of those facial surgeries and morph himself into an alien to scare their wits off. Er…but of course, work comes first. So, Reborn shook the thought off. He made quick choices: A grande-sized frappucino (since their espresso was only served during breakfast, _Che_), three slices of mocha cake and 2 strawberry pretzels. Once paid, he hurried himself to his car. He left immediately.

…**:[]:…**

A telephone ring echoed the household.

"Hello?" said a woman while dusting the furniture.

"_Luce?"_ a slightly deep, manly voice said on the other line. There were a few shuffles and few voices that can be heard before it totally went silent. _'It's Colonnello. I'm afraid I won't make it to dinner today.'_

Luce looked disappointed, "Oh? Is it the season already?"

Colonnello happily replied, _"Yep. And we're currently practicing right now. I need to keep my team in shape or else I'm sure Lal will kill me for it."_

Luce smiled a little and stopped dusting, "All right. What time are you going home?"

"_Hmm, maybe pass 12 midnight already. There's so much to do and we have less than a month to prepare. We can't slack off now."_

"All right, all right. Be careful on your way home. You have your spare key, right?"

"_Yep, don't worry. I have it here."_

"Okay, Ciao. Good luck on the practice."

"_Will do."_ And the lines went dead.

Luce sighed as she put down the phone back to its holder. It's just so sad when the family was not complete for dinner. And if you asked, Luce was the head of the Arcobaleno household. Why Arcobaleno? It was a name given by their neighborhood since they noticed the different colors the occupants possessed. Arcobaleno stood for rainbow in Italian and all of them were Italian-borne. Plus, all 8 residents were very accomplished persons at such a young age, and that gave off the idea of "passing with flying colors" and "crossing the rainbow for the pot of gold". Oh well. Anyway, she was the head of the family because the house was practically hers, having it inherited by her from her grandmother back in Italy when she wanted to start an individual life in Japan. Apparently, her grandmother didn't approve of her living all alone so she sent her 7 childhood friends with her to live with her in Japan and weirdly enough, all of them agreed. Luce's grandmother was the former Giglio Nero Clan Head by the way, and by tradition, only females can attain the title "head" unlike in some other clans wherein the man is the "head" of the family. And so, Luce got the "head" title. But, apart from that, Luce was the most caring individual in the house, almost considered as a mother.

Well, she's a mother, alright.

She frowned.

She went to the living room and turned on the television to kill some time. It was six in the evening and was almost dinner, and the rest of her family was not yet home. Aside from Colonnello, the others will come home by 7:30 in the evening, but it's a good thing that she has cooked dinner. Of course, they would just have to reheat it in case that they didn't arrive at 7:30. She sighed. Even Reborn was not yet home. She changed channels to see what's interesting and apparently nothing caught her eye, until she saw a woman carrying a baby in her arms made Luce stop switching channels.

Her frown deepened.

She was a mother. _Was._ In short, she had a baby before and now…gone. She had a miscarriage due to a kidnapping attempt. Well, she doesn't care about being kidnapped since it happened often because of her status, but the fact her baby was put into line and to an end was something that she can't forgive. She can't understand why her baby needed to be included. Why does she have to be kidnapped? Why does she have to bear the pain of being a child of the Giglio Nero? Because of what happened, her smile was lost in the dark. Her natural cheery side dissipated. Her lively soul seemed to depart from her and nothing can ever bring it up again.

And because of that, Luce's friends were affected. Everybody blamed themselves for being slow to act. Most of all, for being ignorant, even though they were very much skilled in guns, they weren't able to protect Luce. The most affected of that lot was Reborn.

Moments later of thinking, Luce heard a familiar honk from the gate. She knew it was Reborn. With a flick from a device, the gate automatically opened (it's electric-based, thanks to Lal Mirch who was an engineer) and Reborn drove into the garage. Surprisingly enough, the garage can hold 10 cars – 8 slots for the occupants of the Arcobaleno household and 2 slots for guests. Luce went outside to greet Reborn.

"Welcome back, Reborn." Luce said with a small smile, hands clasped together as she watched Reborn to totally dismount his car.

Reborn nodded, "I'm back." Then opening the storage, Reborn took the baggage and handed some to Luce, "I've bought all what you wrote and some others that you followed-up."

"Oh, thank you. I'm sorry if it bothered you."

"It's okay, Luce. Besides, no one was present to help you; even that stupid lackey of mine would come home at a later time."

"Reborn," Luce chided, "Don't be so harsh on Skull, all right?"

"Fine." Then carrying the bags, he said, "Come on, let's get inside."

Once inside, Reborn put all the baggage atop the counter. Luce, on the other hand, removed all fresh goods and immediately stored it in the refrigerator. The non-perishable goods were kept in a cabinet that was on top of the condiments and utensils counter and the other things remained in one plastic. When Reborn searched the bag, he realized he forgot something.

"Luce," he called, "I need to go to the grocery again."

"Eh?" Luce said, confused, "Why? Did you forget something?"

"Yeah. I forgot to buy chips."

Luce's eyes narrowed, "Are you going to stay up late again, Mr. Reborn?"

Reborn shrugged, "Can't help it. I need to help Lal in her blueprint for her next project. Plus, I need to do extra research on Nietzsche's philosophy for next week's essay."

Luce shook her head in defeat, "Oh Reborn, you're such a work-a-holic. Okay, fine, go ahead and return here before 7. Dinner's ready."

"Okay."

…**:[]:…**

It's already evening and it's still unfortunate for the child thief to find food. On his hand was still the $1000 salary he stole from the lady couple of hours ago but he doesn't have any idea how to use it. For him, it's just a scrap of paper with odd drawings and a face that was directly looking at him. He kept on walking and people were desperately removing themselves away from the path of the child. They see him as someone who was not appropriate to live in Japan. However, the child was oblivious to whatever they were saying. All he wanted was to find food in order survive the hunger. Sleeping was not a problem since there were lots of leaves and other places that he can sleep on. Only food was important.

Moments later, he stopped by a hotdog stall. It was not that big, but the container sure does attract the small thief's stomach. With quick, cute toddles, the child went in front of the stall and stared at it for a short period of time. It made the vendor raise an eyebrow and shooed him away. But the small child doesn't understand what he meant. The vendor has no choice but to talk it out.

"You," he started, "You're ruining the business mood within my area. Go somewhere else to bother." Then he turned away. The child remained glued in front of the stall, and right after wiping his work counter, he turned around to see that the child was still looking. Actually, to the pictures.

"You know, kid, you can't afford those. You don't have any money to buy food. And look at you. Who would give you a damn penny?" Then he laughed.

The child seemed not to understand and instead of walking away, he tiptoed and raised himself to peek inside. His (dirty) hands were propped onto the ledge of the stall. Who would want some brown hands on a clean ledge, right? The vendor immediately swatted the small boy's hands, causing him to lose balance and fall on his butt. Accidentally, the money he stole (that was carelessly put into his pocket) fell and like a shining ore, the vendor's eyes sparkled. The child remained impassive yet his stares followed the vendor who was picking the $1000 money like treasure.

The vendor looked at the boy then at the money.

The boy simply blinked his eyes.

Without hesitations, the vendor hurried himself towards the child (albeit not holding him or the hands) and said, "I stand corrected, my child," his voice was all sugary and brightened up his smile at the child, "You have money." When the child doesn't react, the vendor waved the piece of paper in front of the child and spoke, "This is money. You use this to buy stuff you wanted like food. Money is life, my child." The child seemed interested and so he went on, "I don't care how you got this big amount of money, but one thing is for sure, my lad, and that's for you getting a month's supply of hotdogs and drinks from me."

The vendor kept on blabbering nonsense yet the child seemed unfazed. Poor guy.

After five minutes, the vendor gave the child his meal and the child wolfed down the meal in minutes. The vendor was surprised. Half of his mind told him to pity on the child and probably the kid hasn't eaten yet, but the love for money was stronger. Business was business after all, and like he said, money is life. The child was able to take down 6 hotdogs and 4 bottles of water. The child was still emotionless but the action of rubbing his tummy showed satisfaction. Indeed, it covered the two-day starvation and the good side of it was the vendor not minding giving the small child extras. One thousand dollars was something not seen in streets every day. The vendor twirled in happiness. After that, the vendor told the little guy to come back. When the words seemed to pass by the child's ears only, the vendor sighed and used body language to convey his message. All the child could do was to nod.

With all that transaction, both parties were satisfied. And it's time to go home, at least for the vendor.

…**:[]:…**

Reborn sighed. It's almost 7 and he was still walking in the streets. The grocery store that he went into was a mess! People reeked unpleasantly and boxes were everywhere. It looked like the grocery was still on the process of stocking the goods in their respective shelves, but the employees have no choice but to let the buyers proceed on getting what they wanted. Apparently, he's one of them. Ah, it's just such a bad time. As he walked, he thought a lot of things, starting from the day he decided to live with his other companions in one house if not for Luce's grandmother. They were just in their first year in college and Luce's grandmother literally kicked them towards here in Japan. Well, not that he didn't like Japan, but he was more Italian-like than Japanese, even after a decade of living in Japan. But what bothered him the most was the sudden turn of events right after Luce's miscarriage. Up until now, no one has the lead for the kidnap attempt and even though Luce appeared calm, he knew that Luce was still mourning.

And Reborn thought that if he didn't do something sooner, Luce will fall into abyss – Depression.

The next thing he knew was exclaiming a 'shit' as he fell down, with an additional weight on his body and a sticky feeling that was onto his hand. When he opened his eyes, he saw a kid filled with grime. His face was almost unrecognizable due to the blackness of his entire body. But what irked him the most was that the child kept on tugging on the grocery bag that the professor was holding.

"Oi, brat," Reborn sneered. The child didn't react, "Let go of my bag."

The child kept on tugging the bag, although a little stronger pull now.

Reborn felt his veins tick, "Brat, if you're stealing my food then you have a fat chance of doing it. Move aside before I kick you."

The child won't budge.

Reborn was not a very patient person and his patience was reserved only for those who deserve it. But this child in front of him was definitely not worthy of his patience. Without further ado, he kicked the boy on the stomach, sending the child towards the post. The child winced silently and coughed blood, plus the dinner he had went to waste because he vomited. Reborn's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He called this child pathetic. He waited for a moment, watching what the child will do. He knew this age – it's survival of the fittest – and anyone was entitled to do whatever it takes to survive the cruel world. This child was one of them.

And then his eyes widened.

He had never seen such strong yet gentle eyes in his entire life. If ever the boy was cleaned, he bet that the child has the most sparkly eyes – take note, sparkly eyes from the dictionary of the PH.D professor – and it could mean anything. This was also the first time that he encountered such blank emotion. It's like the child was not capable of emotions or he doesn't know how to control his emotions or he was traumatized or whatever. Reborn continued to watch until the child stood, but the child didn't move from where he was; instead the child remained looking at him – both in fear and interest. It lasted for a minute until Reborn can't take it.

The child's mouth was still bleeding and an arm was hugging the tummy.

Reborn grunted before leaving him.

…**:[]:…**

"Seriously, you did that?" Fong asked as he placed his chopsticks down. He was the fastest to eat among his companions and not only that, he arrived 25 minutes earlier than Reborn.

Reborn didn't reply but made a huffing sound indicating his pissed mood.

If anyone was pissed from what Reborn did, no one can beat the irritation that Luce emitted. "Reborn. You shouldn't have to kick that child. What if you killed him?"

"Tch, Luce," Reborn spoke, "That kid won't die from a single kick," and a kick he earned from Luce, "Ouch, that hurt woman – anyway, I was acting on self-defense. Who knows what that child might bring me?"

"Geez," Viper muttered and sipped her strawberry shake, "Children are defenseless and weaponless, Reborn."

"Viper's right," Fong seconded, "Plus, you're smarter than him."

"Che." Reborn muttered.

Luce sighed. She sometimes wondered where all the war freak spirits came from and invaded her companions' bodies. For a simple thing, it got big and worse. Men…"Well, what's done is done. It's a good thing Reborn is not hurt. Just," she paused and glared at Reborn, "don't ever do that again to a child, Reborn."

"Alright, alright."

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**O_O whew. And honestly, I was quite bothered as I wrote this fiction. I am sorry for the grammatical errors in advance and I would love if someone will beta this fiction, although I already have one, but it won't hurt if I have another, right? :D**

**I know most of you already knew who that little guy was, but I have a little question, should I put this on T or M? I am basing this on my characterization of the child. **

**Oh well, don't forget to review! The more, the faster update. :D**


	3. The Arcobaleno Household

**A/N: Oh, thanks to everyone who reviewed. :D It really boosts me up. But I must say, I get fewer reviews than the previous story, and I'm thinking maybe it's because of the lack of adorableness in it. Hahaha, Fret not, lovelies, the adorableness plus drama shall come into your way after chapter 3, so please be patient. :D**

**P.S. I realized something…is this some kind of a gary stu fiction? Please tell me! But, but, I am only telling what children looked like when they are left in streets…. :( I hope this is not gary stu because I hate gary stu fictions. =_=**

**DISCLAIMER: Any names that the readers would see in this fiction are not connected to real people. The authoress has picked Japanese surnames with liberty and does not have any ill-intentions, whatsoever. Moreover, surnames written here are not connected to any of the characters from the other anime.  
**

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**THE RAINBOW'S GUIDANCE**

© Danielle Luna Soulhart

November 2012

* * *

**GUIDE # 2: The Arcobaleno Household**

…**:[]:…**

_Chirp, chirp, chirp…_

The sun shone brightly and it penetrated the eyes of a sleeping child. He was curled like a ball under a pile of leaves, enabling ants to freely walk on him and occasionally taking turns of biting the skin only to be swatted by the boy's hand. Because of the light, the boy was forced to open his eyes, slowly but surely, until he was able to fully open them and see the world. Sitting up, he looked around – the leaves were reddish-orange in color, the trees were almost left barren and the wind was getting chilly. The boy made no motion. He didn't quite understand the surroundings. Yesterday, everything was still green, now it's all red or orange. Come to think of it, the sky was rather dark in color. Was it going to rain?

The child was completely oblivious to the fact that winter was coming soon.

Now that the sleeping spell has worn off, he stood and brushed off the leaves and insects that crawled onto him while he was asleep. When one looked at him, his clothes, tattered and filled with holes, could already pass for rags and he was also barefooted. The only thing he cared for was food.

And so, following his instincts, he was led to a hotdog stand. He silently wished that the vendor would give him free food again and allow him to drink sodas to his heart's content. When the vendor saw him, the he immediately gave the child what the wanted – 3 hotdogs, a large soda and a bottle of water. It's a good thing that there weren't many people outside yet or else the vendor would have cursed the earth for letting the child eat at his stall. After 5 minutes, the child was finally finished with his food and the vendor noticing this, literally shooed him away. The child has no choice but to go.

…**:[]:…**

Meanwhile, the dining hall of the Arcobaleno household seemed to be eerily quiet. There was this heavy atmosphere that surrounded two residents whose heads were buried between their crossed arms on the table. Crushed papers, pens, pencils and rulers were scattered on the table along with the poorly ripped wrappings of junk food. Luce shook her head as she took the leftovers and threw it at the waste bin. _That's what you get for not sleeping properly,_ she inwardly chided.

Moments later, one head moved and it showed a face that looked like it'll fall off. Dark circles were seen under the eyes and the face was dirty from the lead of the pencil. The head moved sideward, absorbing what was happening in the surroundings before nudging the other awake. However, that weak nudge didn't do anything good. Suddenly, a familiar scent travelled inside her nostrils.

"Is that omelet, Luce?" the woman asked.

Hearing the voice, Luce turned around, with a turner* on her hand, and spoke, "You're awake, Lal. It seemed you exhausted yourself all night." Then, turning the omelet, she replied Lal's question, "Yep. Breakfast will be ready in a few.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lal said. She was actually a famous electrical and communications engineer sought out by many. Apparently, she was busy doing a new project and she needed to finish the blueprint today before she went to meet the architect. The blueprint was actually for renovating a museum. "It's a good thing I finished it. It's also thanks to Reborn." Then she nudged Reborn's shoulder harder.

Reborn, thankfully, moved from his position but Lal heard a pained grunt from the other so she moved back. Reborn's hair was sticking up in all ways, making him look like a zombie along with the dark circles around his eyes. For a second, he looked around to catch what was going until his gaze landed on Luce, "Oh. It's morning."

"Good morning to you too, Reborn." Luce said, "I guess you two should've learned your lesson now."

"I swear I'm never taking projects home." Lal commented. She picked up her materials and moved towards the stairs, "I'll just keep these materials in my room, Luce."

Luce didn't respond but waved the turner.

"What time is it?" Reborn asked.

"It's 6:30 am. You have classes in an hour, right?" Luce said calmly, tossing the omelets into the air professionally before catching it with the pan. She didn't receive any comments about the time, but she did hear shuffling sounds and a loud screech of the chair.

Luce was left in the kitchen and the surroundings became lighter. The sun's rays finally settled in and birds were heard from the garden, creating a tranquil atmosphere. Luce loved it. She was a morning person after all. She liked to wake up early to prepare food for her friends and be the first one to see their morning faces too. It's quite entertaining. No one would ever see them like that and she would fight for it. Moments later, she arranged the table and put the plates with two omelets each at its respective places. Then, she made more and placedit in a bigger plate and served it on the table, in case someone wanted/needed seconds. She arranged the table a little more and put fresh flowers as a centerpiece.

Ah, she really was acting like a mother.

A mother to seven adults, to be specific.

She smiled at that thought. She really had wished she had a child, but because of those unfortunate events, she lost hers. Nevertheless, she was quite – _quite_ – happy that her friends were there to help her and she wanted them to be happy; Although, she wondered when that will happen again.

Sighing, she went to the room of a certain person who was very hard to wake. She knew very well that this person doesn't like mornings. But breakfast was breakfast, and it shouldn't be taken for granted. As she was inside, she saw the layers and layers of dark comforter but the moment she went further inside, she shivered from the coldness of the room. Looking at the air conditioner, she saw that it was set to high temperature. She frowned. What was the logic of turning the AC on at its highest if they were going to bury themselves under a pile of blankets?

"Viper," Luce said a little loud, figuring that the occupant of the bed won't hear her. She walked towards the window and pulled the curtains open, turned the AC off and pulled the blankets off, revealing the person she was looking for. "Viper, it's almost seven. Breakfast is ready."

The occupant named Viper grunted and shifted to a different position. Luce sighed. "Viper, don't make this any harder for me or I'll fix your room without your consent."

Immediately, Viper sat, frantically looking around to see if her room was arranged or not. Luce inwardly cheered. So she found the weakness button. When Viper saw nothing was arranged, she directed a cold glare towards Luce, "How dare you threaten me with my room, Luce?"

Luce innocently shrugged, "I don't know. All I know is that I have to wake you up for breakfast. Or," she paused and walked towards Viper's calendar and pointed a date that was encircled in red, "do you want to miss the deadline for your next artwork?"

Viper grunted again and decided to get up. No one could really defy Princess Luce's psychology. "You're heartless. I'm going to charge you for barging into my room." Luce didn't comment on that and just left the room knowing that Viper was not going to really charge her for that.

She immediately went onto the next room and she knew that this person was already awake. This person was not a morning person either, but a turn of events could happen once the curiosity of this person was triggered. When she turned the knob, she immediately saw the strong light coming from a desk lamp. The occupant seemed to be ignoring her and so she took that as a chance to creep inside the room. Like a mother wanting to catch her child red handed, she immediately talked, "Verde, how nice of you to get up without any alarms or my calls today." When she felt the slightest flinch from the said man, she chuckled and continued, "Breakfast is ready. You can do that later, doctor."

Verde raked his hair. Luce was sometimes scary to be with. "Luce…" He said, putting down his pen and facing Luce who was smiling ethereally at him, "The door was meant to be knocked at."

"I know that, but I also know you would not respond…" Then she pointed at something in a small glass dish, "…Now that you have something that caught your interest again."

At the mention of that, Verde immediately diverted his attention back to his study. "Ah, yes. This was actually an antibody cell I took out from the lab. We're trying to figure out how to cure fevers at a faster rate. So far, I managed to-"

Luce didn't bother to comment anymore on whatever Verde was saying simply because she was not listening anymore. Verde was actually a well-renowned doctor and chemist and he has achieved a lot of awards because of his expertise. The only thing that others didn't know was Verde's attitude regarding his observations – he got all talkative until the end of his research. Luce chuckled and patted Verde's shoulder, "As much as I want to know more about your DNA formations, Verde, I believe you should put that back into your mini-ref first and eat breakfast."

Verde seemed not to hear and just went on babbling.

The next room that Luce went into was rather funky for her own liking. Unlike Viper's, this room was relatively clean, although the walls were filled with racing posters and funky accessories. Everything was painted violet and designed like it was going to be a venue for rock concert. This room belonged to one of the greatest actors of this generation and a resident stuntman, Skull. Thankfully, when Luce nudged him awake, Skull moved and opened his eyes. But the annoying part was…

"LUCE! Where's my Personal Assistant?!" Skull screamed and hurried himself out of the bed. "I have a shooting today at Osaka!"

Luce was really tempted to hand chop Skull at his nape. _Control…_ "Skull, honey, it's just almost seven. You have to eat breakfast first before you call Reika-san." Skull looked around and he found out that he was at the Arcobaleno household. He blinked twice before returning his gaze to Luce and sighed, "Ah…so it's morning…"

"You realized now, Skull, dear?" Luce asked endearingly and started treading off the room, "Get up now or else Reborn will eat your share." And with that, she heard the shuffling of blankets as she closed the door.

There were only two rooms left and Luce was thankful that these two guys were not that hard to wake up. She went to one room and smiled, hearing music in moderate volume. When she peeked in, she saw Colonnello doing warm-ups with an enthusiastic smile on his face. It looked like his team was doing a good job too. Colonnello was a coach in track and field and a great athlete in the field of sharp shooting.

Sometimes, it was a wonder how Colonnello was able to juggle between being a coach and an athlete at the same time. Probably because Colonnello was a hyperactive dude that can multitask on any job. She didn't have to get inside knowing that the other was up and just shouted, "Colonnello! Breakfast is ready!" and she received a hyped, "OKAY, kora!"

Right beside Colonnello's, she stopped by in front of the door designed with Chinese carvings. She saw that it was slightly ajar and wind passed by her. When she peeked in, she saw that the window was opened. Beside the window was a person sitting with his legs crossed and hands relaxingly above the knees. His long hair was swaying as the wind passed by. It was quite a breath-taking picture because it drew in a calming state of mind; moreover it made her want to do it too. But alas, she has no time for it as of the moment.

With calm and sure steps, she walked inside and tapped the occupant by the forehead, enough to bring him back to reality. The occupant was named Fong.

"Oh, hello Luce." Fong greeted calmly.

"I'm sorry to disturb your meditation, dear, but breakfast is ready." Luce said, smiling.

"I'll be there in a moment. I just have to tie my hair."

Luce chuckled, "Sure thing." Then she left.

Now that everyone's up, Luce decided to go downstairs. That lot didn't need to be reminded twice and she needed to check if the food was getting cold. By the time she was downstairs, she saw Reborn and Lal eating already and decided that she join in as well. Moments later, the others arrived and ate in silence. Luce smiled

They weren't like this before.

…**:[]:…**

"AHAHAHA! That's the pathetic child I've been telling you guys!" said the red-haired child while pointing to another child. However, the child made no comment about it and just continued picking up the trash. Because of this, the red-haired child fumed and immediately walked towards the silent child and kicked him at the feet.

The child stumbled a little, but made no other actions.A chorus of laughter was heard and the other children began kicking the silent child. The bullied child, however, made no actions. His facial expression was changing every now and then, but it was a little bothering that his face couldn't draw out any real emotion.

Seeing this, the children were more determined to draw out that emotion. They have heard long ago that this child had never spoken to anyone, but he was not completely anti-social. They could see him helping other poor kids or poor elderly people, or in times like this wherein he was picking up trash and selling it to the junk shop. Despite of that, no one really liked him. His physical appearance and his silence were often misunderstood as being rude.

More often than not, everyone thought that this child was mute.

It took the children thirty minutes to make the silent child cry, and by that time, the silent child was already covered with bruises – awful bruises that started to become dark purple – and wounds from the children's slippers and long toenails. The child's face was also covered in cuts and bruises due to the rocks that kept hitting his face.

The children laughed louder, finally satisfied with what they did and with one last kick from the red-haired child, who was the leader of the group, he shouted, "You're such a loser! You should be dead! You don't deserve this place!" Then they left.

The silent child shed tears and got up. His body was really damaged this time. Even dirt could not cover it for him. He picked up the last trash from the garbage bin and started treading to the junk shop.

…**:[]:…**

The whole class echoed in disgruntlementwhen they received their bloody essays – as they mostly call due to the unforgiving red marks by their unrelenting professor – and lowered their heads on their tables. No matter what they do, they couldn't escape that analytical stare of their professor, Reborn. He's too much for a perfectionist that they were sure before they could graduate college, they would find themselves sitting in one corner of a mental institution, rocking back and forth as they cried about bloody essays and creepy, analytical stares.

Some of the class muttered secretly about their tactics of copyingeach other's works, some questioned themselves about annotating their work, while others just completely gave up on getting an exemplarygrade from their professor. Reborn, on the other hand, seemed to be taking his student's reactions rather fondly, smirking all the way with the knowledge of what his students were trying to do. He predicted that they thought he couldn't read their 5-page essay in one sitting and so they devised a plan to copy – ah, rephrasing – each other's work and pass it to their professor. Sadly, their little devious plan was easily rotten.

Nevertheless, a lesson was a lesson, and as a professor, he has to constantly remind his idiotic students about one simple thing:

"Cheating could kill you," Reborn started with a stern tone, effectively making his students shiver in fright, "You probably thought I won't be able to finish reading your essays, huh? It's not an excuse that I gave your homework a day later. I'll admit I'm surprised that some of you managed to put footnotes, however it is not enough. Some of were wrong and the web addresses that you provided me were from useless websites. Did you think it would make your grades higher?" He paused for a while and shot a glare towards his students.

The students shook their heads. They knew they're going to fail the subject.

Reborn huffed, "I don't really patronize crappy essays like yours, but at least you're learning." He saw his students' heads slowly rising with a positive hope shining in their eyes, "Only Miyazaki got a B+ for her essay. She was the only one with the footnotes, although I still noticed some of the information she used were copied from several others, and copied from a book that was not properly annotated in the footnotes. A lot of you wrote confusing details, which is really irritating." Then he sighed. "The only upside was, no one got a D."

The students sighed in relief. Reborn could be a strict professor, but what they really liked from him was his forgiving actions and they were always given second chances.

Reborn sighed, rubbing his temples before speaking, "Because of your scores, you have to make up for it." He heard a series of groans coming from his class and so he slammed his hand on the table. Reborn shot a murderous glare at them, "Don't complain, unless you want to fail my subject."

Thankfully, Miyazaki took the courage to ask for her class, "Ano, Reborn-sensei, I believe there are others aside from me who got a B in their essay. Are we still included?"

"Of course. It would be unfair if you will not take the essay again, right?" Reborn replied and faced the whiteboard, writing the topic for their new essay, "But I have to consider your efforts. For those who got B, if your essay is interesting, I will add plus fifteen to your previous scores. As for those who got C; if you do well in this essay, I will add it to your previous score. However, the next time I see incompetent essays, it will be marked down and thrown out of the window and let others know of your crime. I would not think twice."

The class couldn't get any happier.

Reborn tapped his marker on the board to catch his students' reaction, "Okay, listen. Your essay will be about Marx's philosophy on capitalism. I want it on a short bond paper, font size 12 and should be at least 10 pages. I want proper footnotes this time. The deadline of your essays will be in two weeks time since…" He paused and revealed an evil smirk, "…We will be having a two-part quiz next week."

The students wished they could die right now. Only Professor Reborn has the capability of making them insane in a day.

**...:[]:…**

"Oh Lal. It's a surprise you're here." Fong said as he held a rolled paper on his hand.

Lal huffed. "No one told me you'd be here."

Fong chuckled, "It seems like that." Then someone approached him and handed another rolled paper. "I take it the blueprint is done, engineer?"

Lal took out a rolled paper as well and laid it out on top of Fong's table, "Yeah. Reborn helped me with all the remaining geometric figures last night while I calculated the others." When she heard Fong chuckle again, she sent him a glare, "What?"

"It must have taken you hours before you convinced Reborn." Fong said as he waved a hand to his co-worker.

"It was hell. It's a good thing there was a nearby coffee shop and I managed to bribed him with his favorite espresso." A short silence followed afterwards with Fong watching Lal uncurled the blueprints. When all the blueprints were laid out, Lal spoke again, "So, Mr. Head Architect. Are these okay with you already?"

Fong didn't respond at first and carefully scrutinized the blueprints. He was actually a very famous architect. His designs were the envy of most of the architects around the world. He was well-known for his designs renowned for its contemporary and post-modern architecture incorporated with medieval styles. His artistic style was very unique and that's what clients always search for. He was also very accommodating and easy to talk to so it was not a wonder that clients would be charmed.

It seemed that starting from today until the end of the second month next year, Fong and Lal would be working under one team, with Fong as the Head Architect and team leader and Lal as the Head for Electronics. Lal would be responsible for placing the electricity in areas wherein no matter what weather may come, would not affect the building they'll be making. The client also suggested that the main circuit box should be in a place wherein it would be secured and unreachable from anything that could pose as a threat and at the same time allow an easy access to the employees just in case a fire would break out. Fong and Lal hadn't discussed anything about it yet, and this whole day would be perfect for a nice cup of tea, while discussing the elements of the building.

After a moment of silence, Fong pointed at three figures, "I think we should modify these three, Lal. It's not advisable to put these circuit boxes here."

"So what do you suggest?" Lal asked without looking at Fong.

"Hmm…I think we should call the team now in the conference room. You have the folder, right?"

Lal nodded affirmatively.

…**:[]:…**

"Reika-san, is everything ready now?" Skull asked politely as he fixed himself.

Reika-san, Skull's personal assistant, smiled at him. She had to admit that Skull was one of the few actors with a humbled heart and was very friendly to everyone. Although there were times that he would suddenly shout, "THE REAPERS HATE ME!" and uplift himself in front of the audience, it was only a show to make the people around him energized. She faced Skull and fixed the collar of his polo shirt. "Everything is ready, Skull-san. Just calm down okay?"

Skull shivered from excitement, "T-this is actually my first time…my first time to have a movie with Fujiwara-sama! I'm a huge fan of his!" Then he squinted his eyes in glee, "I'm getting hyped and at the same time nervous meeting him."

"Ah, but Fujiwara-san requested you to be with him." Reika said, and immediately she saw those childish orbs beamed at her, "Yep. Fujiwara-san wants to work with you too."

"Ooooh, this is so great!" Skull exclaimed, "I'm going to work harder!"

Reika laughed. "I'm greatly hoping for that, Skull-san."

…**:[]:…**

A javelin was seen flying graciously in the air and a crowd of cheers filled the area.

"Oh! You're improving!" Colonnello said, jogging towards his team member and giving him an acknowledging pat on the shoulder.

Izaya grinned as he panted, hands on his knees and looked at where his javelin landed. "I couldn't do this without your guidance, Colonnello-sensei."

Colonnello laughed, "Everything is on you, Izaya. I just did the coaching."

Then, one of Colonnello's track team members, Tsukishiro, blurted out, "It's all thanks to Colonnello-sensei's Spartan training!"

Upon hearing that, Colonnello grinned. It looked like someone has finally acknowledged his Spartan approach. _Well, it would be amusing to see these people exert more effort…_ he thought. "Well, since Tsuki-kun here loved my Spartan training, why don't we do one now, hm?"

All members widened their eyes and shot a murderous glare at Tsukishiro, silently wishing for his death.

While Colonnello was amused at watching his team trying to strangle Tsukishiro through their glares, his phone suddenly rang, "Good morning, Saisho-san!" he greeted gleefully. Saisho-san chuckled at the phone, _"Ah, Colonnello-kun. I just want to remind you that you're registered for the upcoming sharp shooting competition in London in three months time."_

"Yes. As soon as the track and field meet is done, I'll fly there and train."

"_I'll be waiting for you then. And oh, I hope the proposal is still with you, right?"_

Colonnello didn't reply for a minute. That proposal was actually about the upcoming Olympics and he was one of the two chosen to represent Japan in the shooting competition. Everyone knew that he was excellent in handling guns just as much as the rumor going on with Lal, the infamous engineer. However, no one has ever seen Colonnello serious on sharp shooting. Sometimes, people wondered what Colonnello really liked the best: sharp shooting or track and field.

As for Colonnello, he was torn between choosing from the two sports he loved the most. He grew up in the field of sharp shooting, thanks to his dad and Lal, but when track and field was introduced to him, he felt something was renewed in him. And so, as time passed by, Colonnello learned to excel in both sports. But now he had to choose.

Colonnello inhaled sharply before answering, "Ah, of course. But I still want to think it over. I hope you understand."

Saisho-sensei understood that sharp intake of breath. He was sad because he knew his student was forced to choose but was putting up a mask so that everyone would not worry. He sighed, "Of course I do understand. The Olympics is in three years time and we have a lot of time to train. However, I hope you could give me your reply as soon as possible."

"Yes, coach." Then the lines went dead.

After that talk, Colonnello immediately returned to his happy side, not wanting his team to worry about that phone conversation. When he saw them gearing up for his Spartan training, he grinned and immediately joined the fun.

…**:[]:…**

"VRRRRROOOOOOIIIIII!" A silver-haired man shouted from one room, a brush on his hand, "Has anyone seen Mammon?!"

"Mou, taichou, you're too noisy. I can't concentrate on my artwork." A teenage boy with a bizarre frog hat worn on his head said, "Mammon-sensei is probably in her own world, finishing that artwork for the exhibit."

"Ushishishi~ Mammon-chan really likes to be alone, ne?" Another teenage boy spoke, his grin resembling a Cheshire cat and his hand was currently twirling a paper knife.

"Bel-senpai, knives can hurt, you know?"

"Ushishishi~ I do know, or maybe not," Belphegor said. "Want to try it out to know if it hurts, hm, Fran?"

Fran sent him a bored look, "Nah, don't bother senpai. It's not fun."

"VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIII IIII! Can you two bastards shut the hell up?! My focus is being ruined by your fucking voices!"

"Scum, keep your voices down if you don't want me to kill you." A new voice emerged.

The two men were Xanxus and Squalo. They were the President and the Vice President of the well-known Varia Academy for Arts, as well as very talented artists – Xanxus on Painting and Squalo on Sculpting. Fran and Belphegor were graduating seniors, who already had achieved the positions of President and Vice President of the Junior Arts Society, in the said academy because of their artistic prowess. Both of them were in the digital arts department.

Honestly, the staff of VAA has their own bizarre personalities and because of that, the students could easily tell them off. They were even dubbed as "Varia Quality". Setting that aside, the works of the VAA was sought all throughout the world and students graduating from this academy were exemplary. Only a few students graduated with flying colors, all thanks to the rigorous teachings and uncanny activities that their professors gave them.

Viper – no, Mammon – was actually a staff of the VAA. She was not a professor (and that very thought made her sick) but she was hired by Xanxus as the Secretary and the Coordinator for Post-Modern Nature Arts Department since she was more inclined in painting abstracts and other optical paintings. Not to mention, she has an Extrasensory Perception; meaning she can see the past and predict the future. And sometimes, her ESP was seen through her paintings. Probably it's also the reason why Xanxus took her in.

After all, they were in a lifetime contract – Xanxus will give money to Viper in exchange of information that can be seen in her paintings.

"VRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIII! YOU BASTARD BOSS!" Squalo shouted, splattering the paint on the floor as he waved his paintbrush, "You're slacking off again! Go back to your room and finish that artwork!" Xanxus clicked his tongue, "Tch. Shark-Trash. I didn't ask you for your advice." Then he turned to Belphegor who was poking Fran with his paper knife and the frog hat-wearing senior doesn't even budge. "Oi, grinning-trash, fetch me some steak! I'm getting hungry!"

The paintbrush fell and in an instant, a fencing sword appeared in front of Xanxus' face, "VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! BASTARD! YOU STILL HAVE THE FUCKING TIME TO FUCKING EAT YOUR MOTHERFUCKING STEAK?!"

Xanxus put out his own weapon – a gun. "TRASH. I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOU OPINION! NOW SCRAM BEFORE I BLAST YOUR HEAD TO SMITHEREENS!"

Belphegor and Fran sighed. Suddenly, the door opened. "Who took my Prismacolors pencils?" Mammon asked in a low tone. Her arms were crossed and the two seniors somewhat knew that Mammon's eyebrows were raised underneath that hood.

"Not us, Mammon-chan," Belphegor replied. When Mamon turned to Fran, she received a shaking head from the teen. She fumed. If not these two idiots, then she knew only one person who could have messed with her art materials. "Lussuria…" she muttered low and cold. Belphegor and Fran tried not to shiver because they knew Lussuria's going broke any moment now.

As for Xanxus and Squalo, both were oblivious that Mammon arrived. They seemed to be too preoccupied with their love quarrel.

…**:[]:…**

It was lunch time and Verde was furious. He was currently driving and his hands were tightly clutched on the wheel. He was fighting the strong urge not to step on the pedal too hard because he didn't want to die. He was totally furious. The reason? His intern just blew the test tube that contained an important substance, shoving the Bunsen burner and burning the research papers scattered atop the table.

That research was fundamental for the new medicine!

Verde pushed a button on his garage remote and the electric gate opened, smoothly parking his car and ran inside the house. It only took him three minutes and 25 seconds to get the things he needed – the copy of the research in his personal computer and the test tube that contained the same substance in the laboratory.

He was really furious. He had an operation scheduled this afternoon. He must finish everything before two o'clock. When he was about to return to his car, his phone rang, "Hello?" He gingerly answered.

"_Dr. Verde,"_ a female voice was heard. _"Dr. Nishitaka is expecting you at 3 o'clock. He needs to discuss the condition of the patient with you before the surgery."_

"Alright. I'm just going to finish my research at the laboratory." Verde said, trying his best not to flip and shout at the secretary.

"_Understood. And by the way, Doctor, the cells that you've been culturing at your office decayed."_

Verde nearly crushed the phone. Seriously, can't his day get any worse?

…**:[]:…**

After going to the Junk Shop and getting his fair share of goods, the silent child treaded of somewhere he doesn't know. He was tired – both body and soul. His eyes were all puffy and red from crying, and the civilians who saw him didn't even bother to lend a handkerchief or a tissue to wipe his face. Heck, they all avoided the child as if he has a deadly disease. Nevertheless, the child didn't do anything. He remained silent.

A whiff of newly cooked food suddenly reached the child's nose and instinctively, he followed the smell_. _He sniffed like a dog and ignored the other people who were looking at him in b(disgust and) disbelief. The smell was not like the other foods sold in the market or at the street, but it was more like a freshly cooked, homemade food.

A little later, the sniffing continued until he stopped in front of a big house. It was brown and maroon in color and there were lots of plants outside. The child tilted his head to the side in wonder, then looked around. He wasn't familiar with this area. He noticed that there were several houses and a lot of plants as well. The area gave off a peaceful aura too.

He didn't realize he was already in a residential area.

Suddenly, his stomach growled and by instinct, he tried to climb the gate. But the gate was too high and was too slippery. He couldn't climb it and made sounds in is struggle to climb, causing for the residents to be alarmed.

Opening the small door at the gate, a woman no older than thirties looked around. When she saw no one, she closed the door with an annoyed look on her face. She has barbeque on the grill and cannot be left unattended or it would burn. But the door bumped into something and when she looked down, she saw a child trying to worm his way inside the house.

"I'm sorry but you can't come inside." Luce said gently as she struggled on holding the child's shoulders carefully and closing the door without hurting the child. Yet, it seemed that Luce's words didn't reach the child's ears, which made Luce wonder in thought. Crouching down, she saw the abnormalities of the world through the child's appearance and she couldn't help but pity the child. Without hesitation, she held the child's face to catch the child's attention and thankfully the he did. With a smile, she said, "I bet you smelt the food I am cooking. Could you please wait for me here?"

The child tilted his head cutely, not understanding what she meant. Nevertheless, he didn't move, so Luce took it as an answer and closed the door. Moments later, the door opened again and the child stared at the small plastic box being handed to him by the tall woman. When he saw the woman smiled, he took the box and opened it, revealing the food.

"It's called barbeque." Luce said, "Don't worry, it's yours already. There's so much inside anyway. I'm quite flattered that you like the smell of what I am cooking. I hope the taste is also to your liking."

The child didn't answer and kept on staring at the food he was given. He realized that he was feeling fluttery, unlike the time when that vendor handed him the food and shooing him away like nothing happened. He felt that this woman was nice. With a shy nod, he ran away, probably to eat the food somewhere where the woman couldn't see him.

Luce just smiled. _Such a sweet child._

…**:[]:…**

Evening came by quickly and surprisingly, everyone was home before 8 pm. Luce stared at the seven other occupants of the house who were also conversing normally. She wondered what happened today. And she had a fair share of good time today too.

"Did something happen, Luce?" Reborn asked, followed by a nod from the others, "You're smiling."

Luce raised an eyebrow, "Since when did you get so observant, Reborn?"

"Just before we transferred here in Japan and I was still messing with your plants back in Italy."

"Touché"

"It also caught my interest, Luce," Verde said, "Why are you smiling?"

"Oh, I just met someone a while ago. And he's rather sweet."

Luce inwardly grinned as she saw the shocked faces of her friends.

* * *

**A/N: Ah…finished. If you ever thought that I rushed the ending, well it's not. I really did end it like that way. :P I guess I took long before the update. So…yeah.**

**I have one question though, what title would you give to your story if it is about life? Send in your comments and perhaps you can be picked. The winner will have his/her title used in one of my character's exciting job. :P**

**P.S. Thanks to my Beta because she kept on murdering me. :)**


	4. Following

**A/N: I'm sorry for the super late update and at the same time, thank you for the reviews. I also wanted to thank Skilvh and Shilvh for giving me such a wonderful title. To the others who contributed, I thank you too; your titles might be of good use in the near future! :D**

WARNING: If you people understood the situation of the world, you will understand why I wrote this chapter. After all, I am writing this with a purpose. There will be violence against children in the latter chapter. So think first before commenting, okay?

BETA'ED BY: Azahkhiel

* * *

**THE RAINBOW'S GUIDANCE**

© Danielle Luna Soulhart

November 2012

* * *

**GUIDE # 3: Following**

…**:[]:…**

"Colonnello, dear, are you all right?"

Colonnello didn't respond. He was looking down at a letter with his name on it. It has been three days since his coach called. He frowned. He was torn in between choosing what he really wanted – sharp shooting or track and field. He loved doing the two sports and it always brought him in high spirits, but with the upcoming Olympics, he had to choose what sport he'll be giving up. Three years was a long time to train, and if ever he choose sharp shooting, he had to give up coaching his track and field team.

Luce sighed. She knew too well how Colonnello loved running as much as he loved shooting. She knew the burden of choosing between two things because she has experienced it too. She had been there when Colonnello mastered holding the usage of various kinds of guns just like Lal and watched the two of them hunt like no tomorrow. It was a good memory. _Ah, but it seems preferences change over time…_she thought. Preferences, indeed, changed. Smiling, she placed her hand on Colonnello's shoulder.

"I know you're troubled, but you know what you love most at the moment." That one simple sentence made Colonnello face Luce, trying his best to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. The blonde-haired coach didn't respond, he only nodded vigorously and crumpled the piece of paper in his hand.

He had his final decision made.

…**:[]:…**

The vendor was not pleased.

He was certain that he allowed the child to have a month's worth of free food and drinks, but he had no recollection of letting the child sleep anywhere near his stall. He noticed that his supposed customers were already walking away because of the child that was currently sleeping under one of the tables he had set up not too long ago. He didn't notice the child coming because he had been busy preparing the hotdogs and the bread buns. He stopped. _I didn't even see him yesterday,_ he thought, leaning a bit over the ledge of his stall and looked at the sleeping child. _Tch. He's ruining my business. I should think of a way to get rid of him._ Just after that thought, an idea popped out of his mind and he grinned.

_Perfect._

…**:[]:…**

"Good morning, Professor Reborn."

"Good morning, sir."

"Have a great day, sir."

Reborn simply ignored the greetings of the students loitering at the hallway, his fedora hiding his eyes. It was not that he disliked the greetings, but he knew all too well why they were greeting him – he was popular. And he hated it. Sometimes he wondered why the hell he chose this profession, but his mind couldn't produce any recollection that made him decide. He inwardly sighed.

"Are? It's Reborn-sensei." A student said and walked towards Reborn.

Instinctively, Reborn looked at the student and nodded, "Ah, Kobayakawa. What are you doing here?"

"Sensei, this is a school, so I have to be here." Kobayakawa replied.

Reborn sent a glare.

Kobayakawa raised his hands in defense, "I am just answering the question, sensei," But when the glare became murderous, he gulped and sighed nervously, "F-Fine. I went to the student council because the president wanted to talk to me."

"During classes?" Reborn asked, muttering a quick 'let's step aside' after realizing that they were both talking at the middle of the hallway.

"I heard my name called through the intercom," the student reasoned out, struggling on holding the rim of papers in his hands. "Then, I was asked to deliver these to the other faculty."

"I see."

A loud dinging sound from the speaker emerged all throughout the hallway, before a female voice was heard after, "Calling Professor Reborn to the Dean's Office. I repeat, calling Professor Reborn to the Dean's Office. Thank you."

"Ah." Is all Reborn could say.

"Oh well, as much as I want to stay and chat with you, sensei, I can't. I'll see you some other time then." Kobayakawa said and bowed.

"It will be better if you won't show up in the near future." Reborn retorted.

The student chuckled, "I doubt that." Then the student went away.

"Troublesome students." Reborn muttered and went towards the Dean's Office.

Kobayakawa was one of Reborn's best students and was one of the few whose personality greatly interested Reborn.

…**:[]:…**

Fong was looking at the blueprints laid down on the table with a smile. Art was one thing that he couldn't live without and making beautiful and sturdy buildings made his life more meaningful. For him, art was like meditation. A person must concentrate hard on finding that inner peace in meditation; while in art, the artist concentrate in visualizing his image, for that image will represent his being. And so, when these concentrations were met, he will achieve the highest tranquility – both in mind, heart and soul, and it went the same with art. He looked up at the on-going project, gesturing towards the construction workers onto where materials should be put; instructing them on the exact measures of the steel, the distance, and all that needed to be done. He was too engrossed in his work that he didn't notice was the constant stares that the construction workers kept on sending him.

Fong was undeniably beautiful.

"OI! GET YOUR ASSES BACK TO WORK, DIMWITS!" A familiar female voice echoed all throughout the site, making Fong snap out of his thoughts.

"Lal." Fong said and smiled, "You didn't have to shout, and they are working."

Lal narrowed her eyes, "No, they are not. They kept on staring 'elsewhere'. And I hate slacking." Just when she said that, she noticed one who kept staring on Fong's lithe figure and was about to drop the bricks he was carrying. That made a vein pop on Lal's head, "OI! YOU SCUMBAG! DO YOU WANT YOUR CO-WORKERS DEAD!? DON'T WAIT FOR ME TO GET YOU FIRED!"

The said worker jumped in surprise, finally realizing his mistake, and dropped a few bricks. Thankfully, there was no one beneath him and the bricks smashed on the ground, breaking into little pieces.

Lal was beginning to get furious, only to be patted by Fong. "You shouldn't be too temperamental, Lal."

"Excuse me?! Temperamental? At least, I'm not the oblivious one, Architect Fong." Then Lal stormed out, instructing the other workers to work on the double.

Fong sighed and chuckled. Lal was just too overprotective sometimes.

…**:[]:…**

The lobby of the Varia Academy for Arts was currently busy. It was being decorated with white flowers put in elegant vases, and white simple streamers pinned with paper roses. The floors were swept and polished carefully by the janitors. There were bust replicas from various well-renowned sculptors, arranged in rows and placed along the aisle. The workers were strictly instructed by an events planner while aspiring artists put their masterpieces in the lobby for display. And so, the whole of Varia Academy was noisy.

Then the large doors opened all of a sudden.

"VOOOIII! WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE NOT DONE HERE YET?!" Squalo exclaimed, effectively stopping the working process.

"Ushishishi," Bell laughed, his signature laugh making the other artist hide behind their artworks. "Peasants will be peasants forever."

"What a self-conceited fake prince." Fran monotonously commented, walking just behind Bel. "Haven't the thought of you being a peasant yourself passed by your mind?"

"Shut up, you frog peasant. I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Tch. Boss will be so angry if he sees you people noisy." Levi, head of the Pottery division, said, shoving away some of the low-hanging streamers.

"Ara~ the place is a mess." Lussuria, the head of the Post-Modern Arts division, commented as well, flicking his red feathered boa as he stopped by Squalo's side. "But I like the flowers~ they are so pretty~" Then he giggled.

Bel and Fran looked at him incredulously.

The events planner walked towards Squalo and reasoned, "We can't just finish these decorations in one day, Squalo-san. There are still so much to do."

"Tch. Just get these things done, because I don't want to hear the boss yapping about noise and mess."

Speaking of the devil, the boss appeared by the stairs. "What 'yapping' are you talking about, scum?" The people sharply turned their heads to the source of the voice and shuddered. The boss was there!

"VOOOOIIII! You lazy boss! What are you doing there?!" Squalo exclaimed once again.

"Hn. Shark-san is noisier than the people here…" Fran commented to himself, only to see a nice sword in front of him.

"Say that again, Frog, and I will kill you." Squalo threatened. Fran just sighed.

Xanxus moved away from his spot and walked towards the aisle, scrutinizing every detail that was already done – the paintings, sculptures, mosaics, everything. He looked up to see the simple decorations, then the flower arrangements, and looked down to see the floor shining. _Hm. Not bad for trash, _he thought. Then, he stopped in front of Squalo.

"Trash. You are fucking noisy."

Squalo flinched and a vein appeared on his temple. Why was his fucking boss calling him fucking trash now? He didn't do anything. "Bastard boss."

"Oooh. So, Xanxus-taichou is the only one who can shut Shark-san up." Fran said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Xanxus and Squalo glared.

But even before Fran could retort, Lussuria interjected, "Where is Mammon-chan again?"

The whole lobby went silent, until one student raised her hand, "I saw Mammon-sensei at the digital room"

Bel snickered, "So, the Psychic came to her senses that Digital Arts is a lot awesome than her Classic Art."

"Bel-senpai, Mammon-shishou will kill you if she hears that." Fran said.

"Ushishishi, who cares?" Then Bel walked away towards the Digital room. Fran, the ever expressionless guy, sighed.

…**:[]:…**

A couple of hours passed and finally, the child awakened. His scrawny dirty, little hands rubbed the corner of his eyes to remove the remnants of his sleep, and looked around. The place was rather dark, narrow and malodorous, not that he really minded since he grew up in that kind of environment. He tilted his head to the side, his mind telling him that there was something odd in the place. He took another round of observation and noticed the broken furniture, pictures that were seemingly slashed and clothes that were scattered everywhere. He stood and cautiously moved around. The place was indeed cramped and only one person could live here. Just when he was about to turn around, his foot caught something, and it created a noise.

"Oh. My little guest is finally awake." A man spoke. He was covered in dirt like the child.

The little guest did not speak.

"What? Are you awed by this wonderful place?" The man asked, raising his arms sideways and twirling. He was grinning madly, and after that motion, his hands moved up and down, telling the broken furniture to bow down before him. "These are my minions. Aren't they obedient?"

The child still didn't speak.

And because of that, the man was irked. The expressionless face of the child made him think that the child was belittling him. He stomped forward and yanked the child's arms harshly, "YOU PIECE OF USELESS BRAT!" Then he shook him strongly.

This brought the child to tears. He wanted to stop this. He didn't want to be like this – a child in the streets – anymore. But what could he do? Nobody liked him. He was always avoided by the people who saw him. He was like a walking trouble in their eyes. He tried looking up at the stranger, but his eyes couldn't focus. He was getting dizzy because of all the shaking the man was doing. After a minute of harsh treatment, the man finally let go of the child, sending him to the other side where the child's back collided to it with such force. It made the child cry.

The man snickered, "So, the little kitty is crying. How cute." He said and walked towards the child and hovered above him, a sick grin plastered on his face, "You know what? We can do something much more fun." He pulled the child's hair and practically threw him on the makeshift bed. He removed all of his clothing and climbed on the bed, "Shall we enjoy ourselves, little one?"

The child was backing away from the smelly man, but his arms were caught and his body was pinned in place. Having such a small body was a big disadvantage in these kinds of situations. His tears rolled down his cheeks as he struggled more and more from the serpent grip of the man. He saw the man above him leaned down towards him and onto his neck, biting down in the process. He yelped and in instinct, he pushed his left knee hard at the man's crotch, making the man scream and curl in pain. He used that moment to run around the small house and not long after, he found the exit.

…**:[]:…**

Verde was typing on his laptop in the living room, deciding to leave his study for a moment since there were no other people present in the mansion except him and Luce. Besides, his study was filled with new books, new medical equipments and not that he wanted to admit, but his study was currently in disorder. The life of being a scientist at the same time a doctor was not a fun thing for starters. Right now, he was typing the results of his research and later on, sending it via e-mail to one of his colleagues for further analysis, when he saw Luce coming down from the stairs carrying her own laptop and a bunch of papers.

"Are you going to write again, Luce?" He asked, pausing at his work as he looked at Luce.

Luce smiled at him as she put down her things onto the table where Verde worked and replied, "Yes. I have to create another book."

"I see. I am always interested in what you write, Luce." Verde complimented and started typing again, "What is it about this time?"

Luce hummed and opened her laptop. While waiting for it to boot, she took a piece of paper containing a rough draft of her newest story, "I'm still not sure about the plot itself, but I want to write something about children."

Verde snorted, "You do really like children, don't you Luce?"

"As much as you love your cultured microorganisms." Luce joked.

"A human could never love microorganisms, Luce. Microorganisms do not have bodily structures and organs that function like that of humans."

Luce chuckled at that. She knew how smart Verde was, but when it came to the topic of romance, she noticed that Verde always countered it with scientific facts. "I know that as much, Verde. You're always tackling things in such an objective way."

"Hn."

"Anyway, I have a title already and it's Treasured Memories. I was inspired when I met someone three days ago." Luce said and smiled, clicking the 'My Documents' folder and searched for her file. It was true that she got inspired when she saw the child. She was deeply moved by those honey-colored orbs that looked so innocent from the world he lived in. Yes, it was pitiful, but she couldn't do anything at the moment. Plus, nobody knew who she was talking about. The only person who kept on asking about that was Verde. And just right about now...

"You haven't told us about that person you are talking about, Luce." Verde said while typing. He can't afford to stop now or he wouldn't finish his research on time.

"I wish I can, but it will be a lot interesting if that person comes by again." Luce replied, as she started to type the ideas in her mind.

"That is also a question: when will that person come again? We can't wait forever, Luce."

"I know. But I have a feeling he will."

"Hn. Suit yourself. But I still want to know who that person is."

"You will, in time." And after that, the two worked peacefully, minding their own business.

…**:[]:…**

"Ah! Such a success. Your acting is wonderful as ever, Skull-san!" Director Matsunagi praised. He was one of the directors of the film wherein Skull starred with his favorite actor, Fujiwara-san.

Skull was too speechless and only managed to scratched his nape in response. Even Fujiwara-san was looking at him in awe. This was one of the dream projects Skull had always wanted to do and with these happening, he was pumped up more to do amazing films with other celebrities. Right now, the filming crew and the celebrities were on a break and they all decided to share a good lunch together. Skull went to his manager to freshen but as he talked to Reika-san, he heard two crew members talking about him behind his back.

"Che, he's just got the role because Fujiwara-sama pitied him."

"He can't even go without being NGed."

"Even though the director was pleased, he was still called in several times. I even saw Fujiwara-sama creased his eyebrows. Probably he got annoyed."

Reika-san heard it all too and patted Skull's shoulder when she saw his shoulders slumped, "Don't listen to them. You did great."

Skull shook his head, "No. They're right. An amazing actor should have no mistakes. Fujiwara-san has only two or three mistakes while I got so many."

Reika-san smiled tenderly, "You know, everyone makes mistakes. You even said yourself that Fujiwara-san made a mistake. Everyone is learning, and so are you. Director Matsunagi is just really the perfectionist type, but look, he praises you, right?"

That made Skull's crestfallen face turn back to normal and he nodded, "Un. Then I shall do my best to make the reapers hate me more!"

"That's the spirit!" Reika-san encouraged Skull and finished wiping off the fake blood that ran on his temples. When they were about to go to the table, Reika-san spoke again, "Do you know why Fujiwara-san asked for you?"

Skull looked over his shoulder and blinked in confusion, "Come to think of it, I don't know."

Reika-san grinned, "That is because Fujiwara-san loves the way you act in action movies. Coincidentally, this is an action film and he was hyped to see you maneuver in air while fighting."

Skull's face turned bright red and tripped from a wire.

…**:[]:…**

Mammon was furious. She couldn't believe that Lussuria's students would do this to her, _and probably was bribed by Lussuria_, she thought, controlling herself from destroying the digital arts room. Belphegor and Fran were seated far away from the artist and they could still feel that seething aura coming out from her lithe figure. Nevertheless, the ever trickster Belphegor never learned to shut his mouth and still talked.

"Soooo, Mammon-chan has decided that digital arts is way too awesome than your Classics." Belphegor taunted and his signature "Ushishishi" followed.

"Don't listen to the fake prince, sensei." Fran countered emotionlessly, "Sempai is being an idiot."

Belphegor threw a paper knife at Fran's direction, which the other perfectly evaded, "Shut up, frog. No one asked you to speak."

"And so are you, fake prince."

"Stop calling me that, frog."

"Only if you stopped calling me frog, fake prince."

"Moron frog!"

"Fake grinning prince."

"Idiot Frog!"

"Blind Fake Grinning Prince."

The two continued throwing insults at each other and Mammon was getting annoyed already. She tried ignoring them, but the bickering of the two students grated on her her nerves. With that, she used a bit of her telekinesis and threw a keyboard at the two, effectively catching their attention, especially Belphergor.

"Mammon-chan! Don't you know how expensive keyboards are?!" Belphegor shouted.

Fran stared at Mammon then at Belphegor. He honestly didn't care about them or the keyboard. He just stayed put and watched the scene with interest.

Mammon seethed. "I don't care about your useless keyboard, Belphegor." She said, her voice was laced with pure anger, "You two are irritating and immature."

"Mou, sensei," Fran said monotonously and raised his hand, "Bel-sempai started it."

"I DON'T care who started it first, and Bel, don't you ever compare my division to yours." Then she pointed at the screen, "I want you to explain this. Now."

Belphegor walked towards the screen and smirked. Fran followed suit and peeked behind Belphegor and raised a thumb. Mammon, on the other hand, was glaring at the two and clenched her fists.

"Well?" Mammon asked through her gritted teeth.

"Well what?" Belphegor asked back, "It's marvelous."

"I never thought I would see sensei like this." Fran commented.

Mammon, due to her pouring anger, her psychic power sparked and the computer near them short-circuited. Belphegor and Fran backed away and sweat dribbled down their temple. After that, Mammon stormed out of the room, cursing in all seven languages that she knew. As for the two students, they looked at each other and then at the destroyed computer, silently thanking Kami that Mammon still spared their lives. They decided that they wouldn't speak of this to whoever will ask and lie about what happened in the digital arts room.

What Mammon was angry about was a portrait of her with her hood down and curled like an innocent child at the school garden. It was captured by Lussuria's trusted student and uploaded it in the computer. And of course, with Lussuria's "negotiating skills", he asked one of the best students (next to Belphegor and Fran) to edit the picture to make it more realistic and beautiful. All Mammon knew was Lussuria was behind this betrayal.

Oh, Lussuria's going to be beheaded soon.

…**:[]:…**

The child was tired, so tired that he could barely move his to mention, he was hungry and thirsty too. His neck was hurting because of the bite the man did and he couldn't comprehend why the man did that to him. He stopped in front of a large tree and there he let his body slumped. He slid down and buried his face on his bent knees against his chest and silently cried. There were passersby who saw him but no one ever dared to give him a penny or food to ease his hunger. No one. After a few minutes of crying, the child stood, wiping away his tears and decided to look for garbage that could be sold to the junk shop. He couldn't stay there sulking all day, right? He had to move on to survive. He didn't care anymore who, all he wanted was to be cared for.

While walking at the sidewalk, he noticed the small grocery store that he frequently passed by. There were only a few people coming in, but most of them were carrying large bags of goods, and it made the child envious. He could see food and drinks inside, and even the leftover food on the tables. He was tempted to go inside, but he remembered he was always kicked out of the store by a guard. Instead, he waited and stared at the glass door. Moments later, the door opened and the child saw a very familiar man whom he always saw coming and going to this store. He was in luck. Probably, this man would give him something now. He could feel that the man he was seeing right now was not truly evil, despite what the man did to him days ago.

Reborn went to the grocery store after his last afternoon class because they were out of milk, thanks to Colonnello. Luce had called him in the middle of his discussion about Napoleon's expeditions and thought of it as an emergency, so he excused himself and went out of the room. But when he heard her, he resisted the urge to palm his face because it would be so uncharacteristic of him, and there were other professors and students passing by. And so, Reborn couldn't say anything more and just agreed, hearing Luce's cheerful 'thanks' after and shut his phone. Aside from the milk, he also bought instant coffee (there were no coffee beans sold in that small store), bread, eggs, catsup, mayonnaise, hotdog, ham and other foodstuffs. He even bought the strawberry jam that Mammon and Verde kept on asking him to buy two days ago. After paying everything, he finally went outside and saw the same child he kicked four days ago.

The two of them stared at each other for a while. No one dared to move or to speak. It was as if both of them were studying each other, wanting to understand the other. Some of the passersby were looking at them, but the two could care less. The wind passed by, and it made the two snap back to reality. Reborn was about to leave when he felt the child's hand holding his grocery bag again. He wanted to kick the kid again, but he remembered Luce and he respected Luce's words so he restrained himself. Instead, he shot a murderous glare at the child.

"What do you want from me, brat?" Reborn asked. He tugged his grocery bag so that the child's hand would let go of it.

The child flinched a bit, but he did not let go of the grocery bag. He didn't reply either. The words coming from the taller man were like jumbled puzzle pieces, making his eyebrows crease a bit. The action made Reborn irked.

"You know, if you're not going to answer, please let go of my bag so I can go home."

But the child didn't let go. Instead, he pointed at the French bread. Reborn raised an eyebrow at that.

"You want this bread?" He asked gruffly. The child nodded. Reborn was looking at the child and he could see how malnourished the child was. Now that they were up close, he saw how dirty the child was – grime and different kinds of particles were onto the child's body. He was even surprised that the child showed no signs of sickness, _probably got immune at it,_ he thought. The child looked at the Reborn, earnest of wanting that bread.

Reborn smirked. This child has guts to approach him just for this piece of bread. He saw no fear in those eyes, probably there was, but his courage and determination overshadowed that fear. If it were any children who saw his glare, they would have probably trembled, ran away or worse, peed on their pants. But, it also came to him that of all people passing by this store and buying from this store, why was he the one always being picked by this child?

He internally sighed. He might as well give this to the child and maybe after this, the child will leave him alone. He took out the bread and handed it over to the child, "Here. I don't want to see your face ever again, got that?"

The child didn't move and took the bread. He sniffed it at first, taking in the sweet and salty fragrance of it before taking a bit. Then all of a sudden, he pushed the bread back to Reborn.

"What? How picky you are." Reborn said irritatingly. How rude of the child to return the bread after biting it. He sent the child another murderous glare and saw the child flinch but made no other movement and the bread was still held up to him.

"What do you want from me, really?!" Reborn asked aloud, gaining attention from the crowd. The child, however, made no reaction and pushed the bread higher.

Reborn gritted his teeth and turned away from the child. "You know what? I don't want my time wasted by some annoying brat like you." Then he left.

The child was heartbroken. The bread that he wholeheartedly pushed up was rejected. Was he a bad child for people to reject him greatly? He sobbed for a while as he watched the man's back, leaving him in the cold night. But no, he should not give up. With that, he followed the man.

…**:[]:..**

"Oh, Reborn, you're back." Luce greeted with a smile. She was still typing her plot on her laptop while waiting for seven o'clock to strike.

"Yeah." Reborn replied and stared at Luce's work,_ so she started writing again,_ he thought at the same time. Then he looked around and noticed that she was the only one in the living room, "Where are the others?"

"Verde is at his study room. Mammon is still at school. Colonnello is at the gym upstairs. Lal and Fong are still at the construction site. And Skull might be coming home soon." Luce replied, still typing away.

"I see." Then Reborn turned his heel towards the kitchen.

The doorbell suddenly rang. Luce stood and went to the gate. And when she opened the gate, to her surprise, someone fell to her arms.

It was the young child she saw three days ago.

"REBORN! COME HERE QUICK!" Luce yelled, worry laced in her voice greatly.

* * *

**A/N: Er…I am sorry people. So sorry. =_=" Well at least there is progress, right? :D Hope you like it! **

**P.S. My Beta commented on the scene changes of this story. The purpose of this was to show you guys the daily lives of the arcobaleno, and I won't be reiterating them in the next chapters because the story will now focus on Tsuna. :D**


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